Day 12 - Summit Day

Unfortunately, I did not get to sleep until about 4 am but woke naturally a bit before 7am - and as on previous trips did not feel that bad with such little sleep. 

The weather is pretty miserable at first with low cloud and snow but it is not too cold. Things seem to improve a bit over breakfast and then I am pretty much ready to go at 8 am to find that the instruction of 'get ready to go after breakfast' in fact meant we are leaving at 9 am so I head back into the tent to keep warm. There is quite a bit of faffing around in the group so those who are ready on time end up just hanging around in the cold for a while - really not the ideal way to start a summit bid!

Nearly ready to go....

The weather deteriorates by the time we leave at 9 and we set off in the cloud and the cold - my concern over yesterday's decision is growing. We are also moving very slowly so it is pretty hard to stay warm or even enthused given that the clouds prevent any view to enjoy. There is a bit of a steep hill that takes us out of camp before we get onto a large flat plain followed by a steepish slope that seems to go on for ever - this is a mix of the speed at which we are travelling and the fact that we can't see any edges given the cloud which finally starts to lift.

Clouds starting to lift on the slope

Vinson mound on the right - the approach to which is from the back

Finally we come to the Vinson peak and head left and up to come round the back. There, after about 3 hours, we see the summit through a break in the clouds which encourages everyone as well as heralding the start of a warmer spell and some superb views of the surrounding area.

From there we climb the final steep section of this slope to the start of the summit ridge where there is a bit of a pause whilst people organise themselves for the final push and others sit back and enjoy the view and the newly warming sun..

 

Rest point before the final ridge

This is very exposed and windy but there are some enjoyable technical sections and great views. The summit ridge is pretty narrow in places and in a few places there we are right on the edge of huge drops when skirting round some of the rock outcrops along it - it is even windier out here which makes it pretty treacherous going. A slip here wouldn't be fatal in itself as we are all roped together but the cold and the wind means that any injury from such a fall would inevitably lead to significant problems (pretty much certain frostbite) before getting back to camp.



Climb up to the final ridge

View along the ridge towards the summit - it starts fairly easily but things get tougher further along!



View back to the start of the ridge and out over Antarctica



Further along the ridge



Its a long way down from here and an outward facing slope with a lot of debris is never fun

 

The summit is equally exposed so we don't spend much time there; a few congratulations and then some photos before heading back down. Apparently, from later discussions the temperature would have been about -40 c whilst we were on the summit, much of which was the windchill. That is a bit surprising as I did not need to layer up for that at all - I did buy a new (lightly insulated) soft shell jacket for the trip and whilst I was finding it too warm lower down on the mountain, these are the conditions it is designed for and it seemed to work fantastically well on reflection - so much so that I did not really realise it at the time!

This just shows how much difference dry vs damp air makes as at no point have I felt anywhere near as cold as even the warmest day at the North Pole but there the coldest was about -40 as well.

Final approach to the summit

The highest point in Antarctica



Remarkable (and unplanned) pose with Gus 

As the weather has cleared,  we can see a lot more of what we have just walked up and it is a much more enjoyable walk down - we are also on the leeward side of the mountain which helps!

Leading the team back along the ridge - the red head in the distance is the hood of my primaloft top - it is pretty chilly in the wind without having done much for some time!

Steep drop off the rest point after the summit ridge

Leading the way over the long plateau - really not too bad now we can enjoy the view and the sun.

Final slope back into camp

The groups split up a bit on the way back to camp but there are further handshakes and backslapping (with a few high fives mixed in) when we re-congregate in camp. In the last part, heat has been a bit of an issue and I have pretty much all my vents undone to keep as cool as possible - not quite what one would expect whilst mountaineering in Antarctica!

Back at camp with Gus.
 

View back up what we have just come down

It has actually been a relatively easy summit day. There is a slightly technical ridge leading up to the summit but there is little else to make this a difficult day. We ended up doing the round trip in about 8 hours but I would think that it would be doable in 4 to 5 hours. The main issue here is the weather which can be pretty bad, but as long as you have your extra layers this can be dealt with. The views, when you have them, are superb though.  

Later on there is a bit of organising and then people congregate to chat and have some hot drinks which lead into supper and bed. I still can't sleep and lie awake thinking and reading until after 3am which is a bit annoying given how tired I am after the past few days. 

Food:

Pancakes and oatmeal
Nothing really for lunch
Crackers and salami / cheese. Also rehydrated meals for those who want some.